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Benjamin Kern

Portrait and Biographical Record ~ Pages

Kindly submitted by: Carrie

Benjamin Kern has been a resident of Slatington throughout almost the entire period of his life, and was formerly one of its most extensive merchants.  He acquired a fortune by his ably conducted business enterprises, and is now living in pleasant retirement in the city of his birth.  When in active business he displayed marked energy, and his management of his interests was characterized by superior discrimination, unerring judgment, and a sound policy in money matters.  Though practically retired, he still maintains a general oversight of his varied interests, both monetary and real-estate.

            Mr. Kern was born in Slatington, August 26, 1834.  His father, Jonas Kern, was one of the most prominent men of this section of country, and was a miller by occupation, though engaged in farming for several years.  He was the founder of the town of Slatington, and at one time owned the land upon which stands the present city.  To him also belongs the distinction of having developed the first slate quarry of Slatington.  Even in old age he retained the activity and energy characteristic of him in youth, and was hale and robust up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1892, at the age of eighty-seven years.

            Benjamin Kern is the fifth lineal descendant in a direct line from Nicholas Kern, the original owner of a five-hundred-acre tract of land upon which the major portion of the town of Slatington now stands.  Nicholas Kern held the land under patents (dated November 24, 1737, and March 15, 1738), from the proprietors, the heirs of William Penn.  From Nicholas a portion of it descended to William, thence to John (the grandfather of our subject), afterward to Jonas, his father, and is now in the possession of Benjamin.  The present handsome residence of Mr. Kern stands on that portion of the property which was the garden one hundred and fifty years ago.

            The paternal grandfather of our subject, John Kern, was a native of Lehigh County and a man of prominence in his locality.  The original representatives of the family in the United States emigrated hither from Switzerland, and in an early day settled in Lehigh County, where they purchased large tracts of land.  Our subject’s mother bore the maiden name of Maria Wehr, and was born in this county, where her entire life was passed.  Benjamin spent the years of boyhood in the parental home, receiving such advantages as the public schools afforded, and supplementing the information there gained by six months’ tuition in the old Allentown Academy.

            At the age of sixteen years Mr. Kern secured a position as clerk in a store at Slatington, where he gained familiarity with the mercantile trade.  In 1853, in partnership with Henry Kuntz, he embarked in merchandising, and for several years continued in that connection, but the partnership was finally dissolved by mutual consent.  After that he conducted the business as sole proprietor, and met with the greatest success until his retirement, in August of 1893.  He always kept a complete line of goods suited to the wants of his customers, and had a large trade among the people of Slatington and the surrounding country.

            With all movements tending toward the advancement of the interests of the town Mr. Kern has always been in hearty sympathy.  In 1877 he was elected Burgess of Slatington, and in that responsible position displayed the possession of energy, executive ability and good judgment.  For several terms he served as a member of the Town Council.  In politics he always supports the principles of the Republican party, and is prominent in local affairs.  Socially he is identified with the Knights of Malta.

            On the 6th of December, 1857, Mr. Kern was united in marriage with Miss Leanna Peters, a native of Lehigh County, and a daughter of Jonas Peters, of this county.  They have had two daughters, of whom the elder, Agnes J., is deceased.  The younger, Ella Victoria, is the wife of Joseph H. Fuller.  In religious connections Mr. and Mrs. Kern hold membership in the Reformed Church of Slatington, to the good works of which they are liberal contributors, and in the social circles of the town none are held in higher esteem than they.

 
Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon Counties, Pennsylvania. Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the Counties, Together with Biographies and Portraits of all the Presidents of the United States. Chicago, Chapman Publishing Co., 1894;
 

 

 

 

Page last updated:   February 5, 2022

 

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